Economic Anxiety Index®

Who’s feeling the most financial stress?

Dave Shaw Oct 26, 2015

Hourly workers are more financially stressed than those paid a salary, according to the Economic Anxiety Index, a number calculated from the Marketplace-Edison Research Poll released this week.

The index, on a scale of zero to 100, is a snapshot of how people are feeling about their personal economic situations. The higher the figure, the more stress someone is feeling.

Among the more than 1,000 people surveyed, the mean score on the Economic Anxiety Index was 31, but it varies widely by demographic group.

Hourly workers are also feeling stagnant wages more acutely than those who earn a salary. The poll showed hourly workers are more pessimistic than salaried workers about whether they’ll receive a raise in the next 12 months. They’re also less likely to report receiving a raise in the last 12 months.

Among different age groups, younger Americans tend to have more financial stress, our poll found, while economic anxiety was higher among those who identified as African-American or Hispanic than the overall average.

 

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